How to Torture Eiri Uesugi
by J-Rocker Girl
Summary: take lessons on how to annoy Yuki to the extreme from his annoying cousin (not istruction book style, promise) rated for rabid fanboy attacks
1. Lesson 1

Disclaimer: if you really want to see it, see my bio or Eiri-Chan will breathe fire. We wouldn't want your computer to melt, now would we?  
  
~  
  
How to Torture Eiri Uesugi  
  
~  
  
Lesson 1: USE THE TITLE, "CHAN"  
  
~  
  
Yuki was very stressed. His deadline was in two days, he had five hundred pages to finish, and his demon-tongued, flame-minded editor was getting very, very peeved to say the least. But she'd have to get over it.  
  
"Eiri..." Tatsuha whined. "You're out of cheese...your refrigerator is chalk-full of..what was that again....?"  
  
Not to mention that his little brother had come for a visit.  
  
"I'm not in the mood for sarcasm right now, Tatsuha..."  
  
The two brothers turned their head to the sound of Yuki's doorbell.  
  
"Get that."  
  
"You'd think an independent novelist such as yourself would have the energy to get his own door."  
  
"I don't have time for this, just get the door."  
  
"No. I wanna beer." With that his brother walked back into the kitchen.  
  
Yuki grumbled under his breath and went to the door.  
  
"Hily-ho~!" Shuichi said as he gave Yuki a hug.  
  
"What are the rest of you doing here?" he asked Shuichi's train of friends.  
  
"Kumagoro wanted to come," Ryuchi said, sticking his stuffed, pink bunny in his face.  
  
"He dragged me," Noriko grumbled.  
  
"I don't know," Hiro said with a shrug.  
  
"Get in...just don't bug me," the blonde said, trying to pry off Shuichi.  
  
After a while of the musicians' conversation, Ryuchi had an announcement to make. "I have a concert in...in...what was that place called, Noriko- Chan?"  
  
"Okinawa...." the girl said, shaking her head.  
  
"I'm going out to get some cheese, Ei....Eikichi...I'll be back..." a very drunk Tatsuha drawled, stumbling out, not even noticing Ryuchi sitting right there. "By the way, you have mail," he grumbled, throwing an envelope on the coffee table and leaving again.  
  
"Uh-huh..." Yuki said, concentrating on his manuscripts again, not even noticing that the door wasn't closed or that there was a letter in front of him.  
  
"Anyway," Ryuchi continued. "I was wondering if you wanted to do a duet with me, Shuichi."  
  
"Sure! Of course why wouldn't--"  
  
"You're really starting to bug me..." Yuki grumbled with a warning tone.  
  
"Hey....how are you?" Tatsuha's voice came from outside. "Eikichi needs some cheese...I haven't seen you in a while. What's up?? Well...I'm off for the cat's moo juice...don't bug 'im, he's got dead...outlines or something. Well, nice talking with ya, ja ne..."  
  
Everyone except Yuki sweat-dropped. "So, what's in it for me?" Hiro asked.  
  
"You can come too, Hiro-Kun," Kumagoro piped up.  
  
After giving the vocalist a strange look, he blinked and looked up.  
  
"What's the matter, Hiro?" Shuichi asked.  
  
"Yuki, who's the chick?" Hiro asked.  
  
"What?"  
  
"There's this really hot chick right behind you."  
  
"Whatever, baka."  
  
"Who is she?" Shuichi whined.  
  
"Wait, she looks like Tatsuha, but with blue hair."  
  
Yuki face-faulted. "Oh no...!"  
  
"ITOKO-CHAN!!" the new girl said, flinging her arms around his neck and placing her feet on his shoulders.  
  
Ryuchi blinked. "That's a very interesting shade of blue. Don't you think, Kumagoro?"  
  
"Oh, yes, Yuki is almost as blue as her long hair," the stuffed animal happily added.  
  
Yuki gasped as his cousin let go and sat next to him. "How is my little Eiri-Chan?" she cooed, pinching his cheeks.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly, rubbing his now red face.  
  
"Well," she started. "IlostmyhouseandIfiguredsinceyouremyfavoritecousinyoudletmestayhere..." she said in one word. "So, will you?"  
  
"Slow that down..."  
  
"You've always been my favorite cousin...have I been your favorite cousin...?"  
  
"You're my only cousin!"  
  
"That shouldn't matter! I haven't seen you since you were fourteen..."  
  
"What's your point?"  
  
"I've already got my stuff in the extra room!" she said with a very cheerful smile.  
  
"Fine....you can stay for a while."  
  
"Arigatou, Eiri-Chan!" she said, nearly choking him again. She let go. "Who're your friends?"  
  
"This is Shuichi Shindou," he said, indicating the pink-haired boy.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Shuichi-Chan. Wait. Shuichi Shindou from Bad Luck?!"  
  
Shuichi and Hiro nodded proudly. Noriko covered her face with her hands and sweat-dropped. "And you must be Hiroshi Nakano!"  
  
"Yup!"  
  
"And...I could never remember the girl's name..."  
  
"My name's Noriko..."  
  
"You're the coolest! I have all your albums."  
  
"Who's your favorite?" Shuichi asked.  
  
"It's me isn't it?" Hiro asked.  
  
"No, me! I'm the lead vocalist!"  
  
"You two make a great team, I could never decide between....although, you could do without the girl..."  
  
~  
  
(AN: I don't like Noriko...)  
  
~  
  
"Thanks," Noriko said, dripping with sarcasm. "I'm going now..." she growled, going out the door.  
  
"And this is Ryuchi Sakura....I mean Sakuma." Yuki continued.  
  
"Nice to meet you," she said, cheerfully.  
  
"You don't know who he is?" Shuichi asked.  
  
"No..."  
  
"Nittle Grasper....?" Hiro asked.  
  
"Doesn't ring a bell."  
  
"YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF HIM?!" Hiro and Shuichi screamed.  
  
"That's okay," Ryuchi said with a giggle.  
  
"I feel like I've sinned or something...I mean, someone knows about us but they've never heard of the Graspers..." Shuichi whined, starting to tear up.  
  
"D-don't cry, Shindou-Chan..." Yuki's cousin whined, starting to tear up herself. "When people cry it makes me want to cry too...."  
  
"I'll try not to...." He suddenly perked up. "Wait, you've been here for almost ten minutes and all we know about you is that you're Yuki's cousin and your band preferences. What's your name?"  
  
"Ryuko Uesugi. But everybody calls me Ryu-Chan."  
  
"Hey!" Ryuchi chimed. "That's what everybody calls me, too!"  
  
"Say," Hiro interjected. "You must be Yuki's little cousin, right? How old are you?"  
  
"Twenty-nine..."  
  
Hiro's eyes nearly popped out of his head and his jaw nearly fell to the floor.  
  
"Are you sure?" Shuichi asked. "You look about as old as Mika-San."  
  
"Hai. I remember when you were born Eiri-Chan. You were so cute...what happened?"  
  
Yuki shook his head. "After all these years I still can't believe I'm related to this...."  
  
"You know Mika-San?" Shuichi asked. "Do you know Seguchi-San, too?"  
  
"San...San...?" she asked, trying to figure out exactly what that meant. "No, I'm a daughter."  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"You speak English?!" Ryuchi asked, now perkier than ever. "Do you live in America?" he asked, switching to English.  
  
"Yeah!" she said with a nod.  
  
"Cool! I lived in Los Angeles, where'd you live?"  
  
"Texas. Lots of tornadoes."  
  
"Does anyone understand what they're saying?" Shuichi asked, looking around, confused.  
  
~  
  
(AN: there you have it. My first Gravitation fic. Like it? Hate it? Do you think I should take it down or just melt my computer altogether? Or is it actually tolerable? Tell me. Review.....onegai?^^;;) 


	2. Lesson 2

Lesson 2: TELL HIM AND HIS FRIENDS ABOUT YOUR NINE-YEAR STAY IN AMERICA  
  
~~  
  
(AN: I know Noriko isn't with Bad Luck, but in the manga she was with them for a little bit. Enough to make an album at least. She played the synthesizer because Tohma thought Shuichi's skills in that department weren't good enough to record. Oh, and a random shout-out: Hi, Bunni- Chan! ^_^ My own personal stalker, I'm honored. Joking, joking, JOKING!!)  
  
(ANPS: wai? The title doesn't have anything to do with the chapter? Heh, my work here is done. and the foreign language thing? Oi.you'll get used to it. I do that a lot in my fics. And not just with Japanese. I did a Spanish outtake with my Shaman King fic. But I translated it, of course)  
  
~~  
  
"One more thing, Ryuko," Yuki said, getting his cousin's attention. "Why didn't you even BOTHER telling me you were coming?"  
  
"I did, Eiri-Chan, I sent a letter...."  
  
"I didn't get a letter."  
  
"Yes, you did, Yuki," Shuichi said, picking up the envelope Tatsuha had thrown on the table. "It's all in romanji...."  
  
"That's not romanji, it's English," Ryuko said, crossing her arms  
  
"Kami-Sama..."  
  
~~  
  
"Ryu-Chan!" Shuichi's voice called through Yuki's apartment a few days later.  
  
He looked around and sweat-dropped as he heard a thud from her room. She opened the door. "Ohayo, Shindou-Chan..." she said groggily. "What's the matter?"  
  
"We're going to N-G Studio today for a recording session."  
  
"Take her...." Yuki growled, walking by. "Please...."  
  
"Well, Eiri-Chan's actually being polite, I guess you'll have to take me," she said with a cheerful smile. "Ano...Shindou-Chan? I know you already gave me an autograph but...hold on!" She went into her room and came back, holding a huge Bad Luck poster. "Since we're going to the studio, I could get Hiro-Chan and Fujisaiki-Chan to sign too!"  
  
"Okay! Cool! It's all in English! I didn't know they sold our posters in America!"  
  
"Maybe even the president could sign! He IS Mika-Chan's husband, isn't he? Tohma Seguchi?"  
  
"Eh, eh," Shuichi said with a nod. "How did you know?"  
  
"Mika-Chan and I wrote back and forth. She was working on her English so we were pen-pals. Well, I'd better get dressed, I'll be out in a minute, Shindou-Chan." With that, she closed the door.  
  
~~  
  
"Ryu-Chan, if you don't mind me asking...." Shuichi started as they walked down a street to N-G Studios. "Why is your hair blue?"  
  
"And why on earth did you pierce your ears five times?" Yuki went on. Somehow Ryuko and Shuichi had convinced him to come.....mostly on a reason Ryuko hadn't exactly given out yet.  
  
"Well...blue has been a favorite color of mine...so why shouldn't my hair be like that? And the ear thing? I pierced them five times? Really? You try going to America and not have a piercing or two...or ten."  
  
"Ryuko...sometimes you scare me," Yuki growled, shaking his head.  
  
"Just keep watching, Eiri-Chan," she said with a wink. "I may be scarier than you think."  
  
~~  
  
"Shuichi's late again," K growled, spinning a small gun on one finger.  
  
"Ano...K-San...please put the gun away...?" Fujisaiki half-asked.  
  
"He's late, he's late, he's late, he's late, he's late!!" Sakano chanted, pacing holes in the floor. "WE'RE ALL DOOMED!! THE DEADLINE FOR THE RECORDING IS WEDNESDAY!!!!"  
  
"What gun?" K asked, placing it to Fujisaiki's temple.  
  
"D-don't kill me....." the boy whined. "I'm not even done with school yet...."  
  
"Mr. Wall, you'll listen to me if I spill my guts out to you, won't you?!" Sakano screamed at the wall. "YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE THAT UNDERSTANDS!!" he continued, smashing his head against his new friend.  
  
"I think he finally lost it," Hiro said with a sweat-drop  
  
"OHAYO!!" Ryuchi chimed as he walked in. "Ano...Sakano-San, are you trying out for a wrecking ball in one of my videos or something?"  
  
"SAKUMA-SAN!! IT'S ALREADY TWO AND SHUICHI ISN'T HERE YET!!"  
  
"What's all the screaming and smashing about?" Mika asked, walking in with Tohma.  
  
"Sakano-San, would you mind keeping the building in one piece, please?" Tohma asked with a sweat-drop and a glance at the dented wall.  
  
"Mika-San, we haven't seen you in---" Hiro started but didn't finish.  
  
"MINNA-SAN!!" Shuichi burst out as he flew through the door. "SUMIMASEN!! Ne, Mika-San....?"  
  
"Mika-Chan!!" Ryuko screamed, running in, taking her cousin's hands.  
  
"Ryu-Chan!!" Mika said with an unusually cheerful smile. "You changed your hair! Kawaii desu!"  
  
"Ryuko..." Yuki grumbled as he followed the others in. "You said I'd find out why you wanted me to come when I got here. Now what the----?! Mika?!"  
  
"I knew he'd be surprised!" Ryuko said with a smile. "Did you find out if it's a boy or a girl yet?!"  
  
"Twins," Tohma said with a polite smile.  
  
"Eh," Mika said with a nod. "Two little girls."  
  
"Wai! I'm so happy for you!"  
  
K blinked a few times. "Uesugi Ryuko?"  
  
"Eh?" she asked, turning around. "K-Chan!"  
  
Hiro, Shuichi, and Fujisaiki ducked waiting for a gun. Nothing?  
  
"That really IS the only title you remember, isn't it?"  
  
"Heh, heh, hai...."  
  
"How do you two know each other?" Shuichi asked.  
  
"So, Mika, you're going to name one of them Eri or Eriko, aren't you?" Yuki asked.  
  
Mika blinked slowly. "Not on your life."  
  
"I was a translator," Ryuko said with a broad smile.  
  
"Apparently, this was the stage where she was fluent in BOTH languages," K said with an eye roll.  
  
Ryuko let out a laugh. "Americans aren't even fluent in their own language!"  
  
"What do you mean?" K asked.  
  
"The word 'karaoke' if instance. It's 'kah-rah-oh-keh'. Not 'keh-ree-oh- kee'!"  
  
"So, what have you been doing since the Secret Service, Ryu-Chan?"  
  
"I'm a manga artist!"  
  
"Manga is just for bakas that can't write REAL literature," Yuki said rolling his eyes.  
  
"Yeah? Well, novels are for people who don't have the talent to draw and write at the same time!"  
  
"You know, she has a point," Hiro pointed out.  
  
"What manga do you write?" Ryuchi asked.  
  
"Seven Days," she answered. "I asked Mika-Chan before I used a Bad Luck song title."  
  
"Is that the one with the werewolf on an alternate planet with four moons? And instead of having to wait 28 days for a full moon, there's one every week?"  
  
"Hai!"  
  
"I love that one! I have all the volumes! And the soundtrack.....and the series on DVD!"  
  
"Really? I didn't know I had celebrity fans."  
  
~~  
  
(AN: oi...I am so sick. I hate my lugs....i wish I could take them out, but I sorta need 'em...it's complete heck to have asthma and pneumonia at the same time...@~@;;) 


	3. Lesson 3

Lesson 3: BASH HIS JOB UNTIL HE BLEEDS. SORT OF.  
  
~~~  
  
Yuki was working on his manuscripts again while listening to Bad Luck's recording session. So, his strange....estranged cousin finally paid a visit after nine years of America, his sister conveniently forgot to tell him she was expecting twins and....he couldn't hear himself think.  
  
"Ryuko..."  
  
"Hai?" she asked, turning around from cheering on the band.  
  
"What's so great about this band, anyway? The lyrics don't make sense."  
  
"That's exactly why I like them. Life doesn't always have to make sense. Like your personality and the genre of novels you write."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"You wouldn't expect anyone as cold as you to write romance...or have someone like Shindou-Chan as a boyfriend..."  
  
"Well, I wouldn't exactly expect someone with your immature personality to write hardcore shonen."  
  
"See? That's exactly what I mean. Life doesn't make sense."  
  
Everyone face-faulted as Tatsuha walked into the recording room.  
  
"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Hiro demanded.  
  
"Where's Eikichi?" he looked through the window. "There he is." He walked out of the room and up to Yuki. "Yaro..." he growled.  
  
"What's your problem?"  
  
"You let me get drunk last night and now I'm having the worst hangover of my life." With that, he fell facedown on the floor.  
  
"With the exception of Tatsu-Chan," Ryuko said, poking her young cousin to see if he would respond.  
  
"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but you're right," Yuki said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Ne, Ryu-Chan," Ryuchi began. "I know this is off-subject, but what's going to happen in the next volume of Seven Days?"  
  
"Ya, ya, no spoilers, Ryu-Chan..." Ryuko said shaking her head.  
  
She and Ryuchi face-faulted as Tatsuha reached up and grabbed her ankle. "If Ryuchi wants spoilers, Ryuchi gets spoilers..."  
  
"Th-That's okay, Tatsuha...." Ryuchi said, waving his hands frantically. "If Ryu-Chan doesn't want to give spoilers, she's the author...I can't do anything about it..."  
  
Tatsuha stood up and glared at Ryuko. "Why is the light on?"  
  
"Tatsuha, go home," Yuki said. "You need to be at home, getting some rest."  
  
"Can I go to your apartment? Otou-San will kill me if I came home like this."  
  
"Go. Home. No, scratch that, I'll drive you." With that, he stood up and walked his brother out of the room.  
  
"What was that?" K asked.  
  
"Don't worry, K-Chan, he's been doing that since he was eight," Ryuko explained.  
  
After the recording session was FINALLY over, Shuichi, Ryuko, Ryuchi, Hiro, K, and Fujisaiki were all heading back to Yuki's apartment.  
  
"Ryu-Chan," Shuichi pondered.  
  
"Hai?" Ryuchi and Ryuko asked, turning to him.  
  
"Matte, matte, matte, matte," Hiro said shaking his head. "Let's specify here...Ryu-Chan," he said, pointing to Ryuko. "Ryu-Kun," he finished, pointing to Ryuchi. "That okay?"  
  
Everyone nodded.  
  
"Hai, Ryu-Chan," Shuichi went on. "You're anime is called 'Seven Days', right?"  
  
Ryuko nodded.  
  
"K-San, would it be okay if she used that song for her opening theme song?"  
  
"Hai," K said with a nod.  
  
"That's right!" Ryuchi exclaimed. "The theme songs are only eye-catchers with instrumentals in the background! Ryu-Chan, would you be willing to use one of Nittle Grasper's songs for the end theme?"  
  
"I don't know...who's your----" she stopped when she turned to him. "Ryu- Chan, don't cry...great, now I'm crying too!"  
  
Hiro, Fujisaiki, and K gave each other strange glances. Shuichi eventually started crying, too, and the three were crying on one another's shoulders.  
  
In the midst of the crying torrent, the group had stopped. K rolled his eyes. "Yes, she can have one of Nittle Grasper's songs for the end theme song."  
  
"K-San, I thought you weren't their manager anymore," Fujisaiki said with a confused look.  
  
"Ryuchi's manager quit today and asked me if I wanted to...why not?"  
  
"This'll be so neat!" Ryuchi exclaimed. "It'll be like we're all doing a trio!"  
  
"That's awesome!" Shuichi added.  
  
"That is cool! I'll be doing a trio with my favorite band and a fan!" Ryuko went on.  
  
"Shuichi!! Hiro!!" a familiar voice called from behind.  
  
"Maiko?!" Shuichi exclaimed.  
  
"Shuichi, who is this girl? You better not have ditched Yuki-San!" Maiko scolded.  
  
"This Yuki's cousin, Ryuko----" Shuichi started but Maiko cut him.  
  
"Ryuko Uesugi?!"  
  
Ryuko looked around "Hai...?"  
  
"I LOVE your work! Shuichi, how did you run into Ryuko Uesugi?!"  
  
"Actually," Ryuchi interjected. "She nearly strangled Yuki. I thought it was funny. His face was a pretty blue color. Wasn't it, Kumagoro?"  
  
The stuffed, pink rabbit nodded.  
  
"Uesugi-San," Maiko said, sprouting cat ears.  
  
"No, no, Ryu-Chan will do."  
  
"I'm sorry!" Maiko said with a blush. "It's just I never thought I'd be here talking to you....back to the subject!" Shuichi's younger sister reached in her bag and pulled out the first graphic novel of "Seven Days". "Would you sign inside the cover? Onegai?"  
  
"Hai," Ryuko said, taking the pen the girl had whipped out as well. She signed the book and handed it back to Maiko.  
  
Maiko blinked. "Eh? It's in romanji."  
  
"Hai, my handwriting with English is better than hiragana, katakana, or kanji for that matter."  
  
"Well, I love your story and your style of drawing, and so do all my friends. They'll just die when I show them..." the girl said, dreamily. "Well, ja, Ryu-Chan!" With that, she skipped off.  
  
"No goodbye to her older brother..." Shuichi lamented. "Just like Maiko."  
  
"Eh? That was your younger sister, Shindou-Chan?" Ryuko asked.  
  
"Unfortunately..."  
  
"She seemed like a nice girl to me..." Ryuko said, tilting her head with a warm smile.  
  
"Do you think Yuki would mind if I dropped by tomorrow and had Ryu-Chan sign my Seven Days things?" Ryuchi asked.  
  
"Does it matter? If you come, Shuichi and Ryu-Chan will let you in anyway," Hiro said with a shrug. 


	4. Lesson 4

Lesson 4: CRASH A DINNER PARTY  
  
~~~~  
  
AN: okay, in this chapter there will be a cameo appearance of an OC from a friend's fic It's called "Don't Shoot the Band" by Vera-Sama. Anyway, her name is Cassie. She's K's little sister and is going out with Hiro against K's wishes. BTW, there will most likely be a LOT of these cameos, so bear with, kudesai. If you haven't noticed, we don't like Ayaka- baka.  
  
~~~~  
  
ANPS: Ooo...y'all are lucky, you get what none of my readers have ever gotten before...~cue dramatic music~ DOUBLE CHAPTER INSTALLMENT....ok , I'm done. Here's chappie four.  
  
~~~~  
  
"Hm," Tatsuha said, walking in.  
  
"What is it, Tatsu-Chan?" Ryuko asked.  
  
"Where's Eiri?"  
  
"He went out to eat..why?"  
  
Tatsuha looked around the large apartment thoughtfully. Something finally caught his attention. He picked up a small piece of paper. "'Yuki, Ryu-Chan..'" he read aloud. "'I'm going to a friend's house for dinner. See you when I get home. Here's the address if you want to look for me.'" The black-haired monk sat back and rubbed his chin in thought.  
  
"What's that look for, Tatsu-Chan?" Ryuko asked.  
  
"Wherever Shuichi is...Ryuchi usually follows...Come on, Ryu-Chan!" with that, Tatsuha grabbed his long, black leather coat, and dragged Ryuko away giving her hardly enough time to grab her fringed suede jacket (AN: just for those of you who forgot, she lived in Texas.)  
  
"Tatsu-Chan, since when did you have a motorcycle?!" Ryuko exclaimed when they got down to the street  
  
"Awesome seventeenth birthday present, ain't it?" he asked, throwing her an extra helmet as he climbed on.  
  
She smiled as she put on the black helmet and climbed on behind him. She was just going to hang on to the motorcycle, but she changed her mind as Tatsuha kicked off in full-speed.  
  
"Sorry, I should've warned you, Ryu-Chan," he said as she flung her arms around him.  
  
"That's okay, Itoko-Chan," she said as they sped down the street, weaving around cars. "Tatsu-Chan, do you think this is safe?!"  
  
"Heh!" he laughed. "This is how I get to school every morning! It's great having connections with a local temple, ne?!" he added, speeding up even more.  
  
"If we get pulled over, I had nothing to do with it!"  
  
"You've been in America too long! The traffic control here is horrible!"  
  
Ryuko blinked as they passed a sign. "So are the speed limits!"  
  
She just rolled her eyes and calmed down. "Ne, what's that smell?" she moved her head off her cousin's shoulder. "Oi, I think it's coming from your head!"  
  
Tatsuha let out a laugh. "It's the shampoo Ryuchi uses, like it?!"  
  
"It's really strong!"  
  
"I know, I wash my hair with it three times a day!" he proclaimed.  
  
'Poor Ryu-Chan,' Ryuko thought as they finally slowed down. She thought they had finally gotten to the building, but Tatsuha had that look on his face again.  
  
"You okay back there?" Tatsuha asked.  
  
"I'm used to pick-up trucks, I've never really been on a wild, speeding motorcycle with my seventeen year-old cousin driving!"  
  
"Hm," was all he said before he screamed, "HOLD ON!!" He kicked off again with all the poor little motorcycle had and they flew off the road onto a grass hill with a thud.  
  
The grass hill led up to a group of apartment buildings. So this was where they were going.  
  
"Hey!" Tatsuha exclaimed as he rolled the motorcycle around the parking. "There's Eiri's car!" He pulled the motorcycle between Eiri's car and another motorcycle.  
  
Ryuko got off and set the helmet back where Tatsuha had grabbed it from and Tatsuha got off, put his helmet back where it was and looked at Shuichi's note.  
  
"Okay, I know where it is!" Tatsuha declared as his grabbed Ryuko's arm and darted up some stairs and around a few sharp turns on the breeze way and finally stopped at a door.  
  
"Hai?" a girl's voice asked after Tatsuha knocked. She couldn't see the girl, because her young cousin was blocking the doorway.  
  
"Is he here?" Tatsuha asked.  
  
"Who?" the girl asked.  
  
"You know who!"  
  
"No, I don't, who are you?"  
  
"Tatsu-Chan, don't scare the poor girl," Ryuko said, walking up.  
  
The blonde girl retreated behind Hiro. "Who are these people?" she asked  
  
"Yuki's brother and cousin," the young guitarist answered. He slipped an arm around her shoulder with a sly smile. "Don't worry, I'll protect you..."  
  
Ryuko blinked as K put a gun to Hiro's head.  
  
"Put the gun down," Judy said walking up.  
  
"Judy-Chan!" Ryuko hailed. "It's been awhile!"  
  
K crossed his arms and glared lasers at Hiro.  
  
"How have you been, Ryu-Chan? I haven't seen you since you moved to Texas."  
  
"Just fine. How's Mikey-Chan?"  
  
"He's fine. K, go round him up, we're going home."  
  
K walked into the living room, shooting glares at Hiro as he walked.  
  
"It's a little K-Chan clone!" Ryuko shouted, hugging the girl.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked nervously.  
  
"Oh!" she said, letting go. "Uesugi Ryuko. I didn't know K had a sister, what's your name?"  
  
"Cassie, K has five sisters. Wait a minute. Did you say 'Uesugi Ryuko'? As in the creator of Seven Days?"  
  
"Hai?"  
  
"That was my first manga and my favorite!"  
  
"Hah, I should stay in Japan, I get a lot of reactions from fans!"  
  
"What's taking them so long?" Judy asked, walking into the living room. "CLAUDE K. WINCHESTER!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING PLAYING VIDEO GAMES?!"  
  
K heaved a sigh and everyone sweat-dropped as he walked to the door, holding Mike in one arm, Judy following.  
  
"Ja, Cassie-Chan," Judy said as they walked out, K shooting one last glare at Hiro  
  
"Hm," Cassie said after they left. "For some reason, I'm not convinced...I don't think she's related to you," she added to Yuki. "Probably because she doesn't look like she belongs to the Mafia!" she went on, motioning to Tatsuha's all-black attire and Yuki's own Mafia hit man- like outfit.  
  
"Oh, no," Yuki said, shaking his head. "She's not a hit man. Didn't you know? She's the number one assassin."  
  
"No, no, I'm the boss..." Ryuko said jokingly.  
  
"Eh?" a familiar voice came from the living room.  
  
"RYUCHI!!" Tatsuha screamed, running over to give him a hug.  
  
Fortunately, Ryuchi dodged him and darted, instead for the door. "RYU-CHAN!!" he called, tackling his friend at the door, sending them both to the floor  
  
"Man, that looked weird," Cassie said, scratching her head. "I never thought I'd see Ryu-Chan shout 'Ryu-Chan'."  
  
"Oh? Sorry, Ryu-Chan, I didn't think you'd fall," Ryuchi apologized, helping her up.  
  
"It's okay," she said with a laugh.  
  
Ryuchi let out another laugh. "Well, I'd like to stay and talk Cassie-Chan, but I've got a date!" With that he took Ryuko's hand and started out the door.  
  
"Nani?" Ryuko asked as they left. "We do?"  
  
Cassie and Hiro sweat-dropped as Tatsuha face-faulted. It looked very strange on someone wearing a long, black, leather trench coat and shades. "MY OWN COUSIN!!" he lamented, walking out after them.  
  
"Don't mind him," Yuki said after the door closed again. "He's a rabid fanboy."  
  
"Aw man!!" Noriko shouted. "That was my ride!!" (AN: Cassie originally had NG over for dinner plus K and family. BL decided to stop by too. Just read the fic...Ryuko has cameos in that one too^^)  
  
~~~~  
  
Ryuchi glanced over his shoulder as he heard Cassie's door close again. "Let's lose him!" he said with a smile as he sped them up.  
  
"Aw, man!" Ryuko exclaimed as they got to parking lot. "Another motorcycle?! At least you're not Tatsuha..."  
  
"Don't worry," Ryuchi said, handing her his extra helmet. "Noriko- Chan got here in one piece, didn't she?"  
  
"Ne, Ryu-Chan," Ryuko started as they went down the road. "Where are we going?"  
  
"My place," he said just a little too cheerfully.  
  
"Eh? In America?"  
  
"No, no, I have a place here when I come to visit. Besides, we have to pick a song for the end theme song, don't we?"  
  
After about half an hour, Ryuchi finally got to his garage. "Here we are!" he said in a sing-song voice. For some reason, Ryuko didn't seem to be moving. "Ryu-Chan?" he asked, turning around. "Oh, she's asleep. No wonder she was so quiet. Hm....I have an idea!" With that he whipped out his ever-famous Kumagoro.  
  
"Ryu-Chan..." Kumagoro said, nudging her shoulder. "Ryu-Chan?"  
  
She finally shook her head and took off her helmet. "Eh? Oh, Kumagoro-Chan, did you wake me up?" she asked, patting the pink rabbit's head.  
  
~~~~  
  
(AN: yare...for some reason, that was harder than I expected...wonder why. ~rolls eyes~ ok. Now for an irrelevant question that has EVERYTHING to do with the next chapter. Who sang "Bird" and "Break Through"? I've seen it both, so I'm completely lost....) 


	5. Lesson 5

Lesson 5  
  
~~~~~  
  
AN: thanks for the great reviews, I should double update more often..  
  
Ryu-Chan: (is reading reviews) Nani? "Ryuko-Chan ish.." what is ish?  
  
Ryu-Kun: I don't know, I think it's a weird irregular verb.  
  
Ryu-Chan: and why do people insist on calling me "Ryuko"?!  
  
Yuki: T.T that's your name.  
  
Ryu-Chan: and why do people call you Yuki?  
  
Yuki: that's my penname.  
  
Ryu-Chan: oh, okay.  
  
Avia: ano...I have two. Avia's just easier to spell out than Akiyama...for all you that are reading this on mm.org....just go with it.  
  
Yuki: who said you could open your mouth?  
  
Avia: I'm the author...  
  
Yuki: and?  
  
Avia: and if you don't shut up, I'll lock you in a room with a drunk chibi Shuichi.  
  
Yuki: T.T I have deadlines to do...  
  
Avia: back to the chapter please...BTW, since no one answered the irrelevant question, I'll just take the easy way out.  
  
Kumagoro: (waves) please enjoy the chapter no da!! =^_^=  
  
~~~~~  
  
"Noriko-Chan put together a CD of some of the songs she thought would make a good end theme," Ryuchi explained as they walked through Ryuchi's house. "Tohma thought it would be better if I put it together since I was more familiar with it, but Noriko-Chan took over. Here it is!" he exclaimed holding up a blank disc.  
  
"How many songs are on it, Ryu-Chan?" Ryuko asked, sitting down.  
  
"I don't know. Hah, I don't even know what songs are on it...we'll see." With that, he put the CD in the machine and sat next to Ryuko.  
  
"Hm, that one has good instrumentals," Ryuko pondered as she listened.  
  
"That was 'Sleepless Beauty', it was our first single."  
  
"Wai, you're the lead singer, aren't you, Ryu-Chan?"  
  
"Hai, hai."  
  
"You've got a good voice! Come to think of it, Shindou-Chan's voice sounds a lot like yours."  
  
"Oh, you think so?"  
  
They sat there for a few minutes, listening to the CD, trying to find a good song. "Well, I like this song..." Ryuko said around "Shining Collection."  
  
"Well, you'd have to talk to the author about that one," Ryuchi said with a sweat-drop.  
  
"Who wrote it?"  
  
"Yuki."  
  
"Oh, never mind, then. He'd just send me for a wild goose chase."  
  
After finding a song for the end theme, Ryuchi gave Ryuko a ride back to Yuki's apartment.  
  
Ryuko shook her head and opened the door only to find a very tall, shadowy Yuki lurking behind it. "What's the matter, Eiri-Chan?"  
  
"Do you realize how late it is?" he demanded.  
  
"Eiri-Chan, if you haven't forgotten, I'm six years older than you..."  
  
"That's not what I mean."  
  
"Ryu-Chan!!" Shuichi's voice came from inside. "Did you get lost or something?! I was so worried!!"  
  
"THAT is what I mean..."  
  
"Eh?" Ryuko asked. "What's the matter, Shindou-Chan?"  
  
Shuichi grinned and held up a copy of "Seven Days" on DVD. "Will you watch it with me??" he whined. "Yuki won't watch it with me..."  
  
"Eh?" Ryuko asked, scratching her head. "You're into it, too, Shui- Chan?"  
  
"Well..if I'm playing the opening theme I might as well see what it's about. I've already read the manga so far."  
  
"In one day?!" Ryuko and Yuki asked at the same time.  
  
"Well, after Yuki left and you were working on sketches, I had nothing to do...so I went to the bookstore and bought the manga. My neck hurts..."  
  
"Baka," Yuki said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Anyway, Ryu-Kun let me borrow his DVD collection of the anime."  
  
"Okay, I'll watch it with you, I want to see what kind of job they did dubbing it into Japanese."  
  
"Eh? It wasn't originally in Japanese?"  
  
"Well...I wrote it while I was in America."  
  
"Oh..." Shuichi said thoughtfully as they went into the living room.  
  
Ryuko suddenly got a very uncharacteristic, very evil smirk on her face.  
  
"Nani?" Shuichi asked.  
  
The blue-haired manga artist walked into the room Yuki had just walked into. 'What's going on?' Shuichi thought. He covered his ears as he heard Yuki scream, "NOT THE EARS!!"  
  
The pink-haired singer nodded as all was explained and Ryuko walked in, dragging her cousin by the ear.  
  
"Pop the DVD in, Shui-Chan!"  
  
"Wai?" Shuichi asked as he walked over to the DVD player. "You called me 'Shui-Chan'."  
  
"Eh, I figured since you're my cousin's boyfriend and you've become like a little brother, I might as well call you by your first name."  
  
"Thanks Ryu-Chan!" he said, going chibi and making huge, watery eyes.  
  
Ryuko lifted a worried eyebrow. "You're not going to cry again, are you?"  
  
"Put the DVD in already!" Yuki growled, plopping down next to Ryuko  
  
"Oh! Right!" Shuichi said, going back to normal and popped in the disc.  
  
~~~~~  
  
After a few hours of "Seven Days", Yuki had finally given up on trying to understand his cousin's masterpiece American anime and fallen asleep.  
  
Ryuko paused the episode they were on and turned to her friend, who was quite confused by now. "Why did you pause the show, Ryu-Chan?" he asked.  
  
"I was thinking...Eiri-Chan and I haven't really gotten all that close as far as he's concerned...but when he was little, he was my best friend," she answered with a smile.  
  
"Uh-huh...."  
  
"And never got enjoy hand-me-downs since he was the eldest son..."  
  
"Oh...what do you have in mind?"  
  
Ryuko held up something. (AN: that the reader can't see until Yuki wakes up ~insert evil laugh~) "Don't you think he'll like it?"  
  
"I don't know...he might wake up..."  
  
"Ya, ya, he sleeps like a rock when he's bored, you know that."  
  
"Isn't he so cute when he sleeps...?"  
  
"I know, he looks like a little kid...we should make him look even cuter, no?"  
  
Shuichi looked uneasily from his smiling friend to his sleeping lover. "Okay, okay!" he finally said, putting on an uncharacteristic smirk himself.  
  
~~~~~  
  
"Yuki..." the writer heard in his sleep. "Yuki..." Great. Now the pink-haired baka was getting into his dreams?  
  
"Eiri-Chan...wake up!" his cousin's voice rang. Okay, so maybe it wasn't a dream, but he was still tired, they'd have to wait.  
  
"He's not waking up..." Shuichi lamented.  
  
"I know what used to wake him up when we were little," Ryuko said with a wink. "Eiri-Chan, Tatsu-Chan wants to play Nittle Grasper!"  
  
Yuki suddenly sprang up in a cold, frightened sweat.  
  
"La Li Ho!!" Shuichi chimed, giving him a hug. "Ne, what's so scary about playing Nittle Grasper?"  
  
"Tatsu-Chan would play his music really loud, so the whole temple could hear it. I played Noriko...."  
  
"Tatsuha would play Ryuchi, and I was forced to join along and play Tohma."  
  
"That's really weird..."  
  
"What was weirder is Tatsuha would always make Tohma have crush on Noriko while Ryuchi chased after Tohma."  
  
"Tatsu-Chan is very special..."  
  
Yuki suddenly blinked and felt his head. There was something in his hair? He took one of the things out and turned on the light. "Ryuko..."  
  
~~~~~  
  
AN: my version of suspense, but I bet you can already guess what it is... 


	6. Lesson 6

Lesson 6: A SLIGHT TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"Ryuko..." Yuki started. "Why are there pink, lacey bows in my hair?"  
  
"Hand-me-downs. You like 'em?" Ryuko asked, trying not to laugh.  
  
Shuichi looked around for a little bit. "I think they bring out your eyes!" he blurted out.  
  
He glared at the two bakas. He felt like kicking them out. But Shuichi would bug him once he let him back in and Ryuko would howl all night about how she was related to him and how he was being a bad host. Plus he was exhausted. And it would be extremely and annoyingly quiet without those two. And he knew it. So, he didn't.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
About a week later, Ryuko found herself waking up on Yuki's couch over her sketches. Something had woken her up, but she could place it. The phone rang. Oh, so that was it.  
  
She stood up and stretched. It was apparently in the Uesugi gene pool to fall asleep anywhere. "Hello?" she asked, then realized this wasn't America. "I mean, moshi, moshi!"  
  
"Ohayo, Ryu-Chan," Hiro's voice came from the other line.  
  
"Morning, Hiro-Chan...what's the matter?"  
  
"We have a slight transportation problem."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"K's other four sisters are at the airport and they want to see him. Is there any way Yuki-San could be of any use?"  
  
As if on cue, Yuki walked in. "Whatever it is, the answer is 'no'," he said rather flatly as if sensing someone wanted a favor.  
  
"He said he'd love to, Hiro-Chan!" Ryuko assured her friend rather cheerfully. "Ja!" she said, hanging up the phone.  
  
"What did I just agree to?" Yuki asked.  
  
Ryuko ran her fingers through her extremely messy hair, trying to think of how to answer. "A slight transportation problem." With that, she went off to her room to get dressed.  
  
"Ryuko, what is your definition of a 'slight transportation problem'?" Yuki asked after she got dressed and everyone was sitting in the kitchen having breakfast, compliments of Ryuko.  
  
"Yeah, Ryu-Chan, what's the matter?" Shuichi asked.  
  
"Four hyperactive blondes with a sniper's temper are waiting at the airport for someone to pick them up to see their brother and sister."  
  
Shuichi suddenly went chibi, but before he could start having conniptions on the thought of four K's, Yuki put a hand over his mouth. He gave a sigh. "I know you like to be evil in the morning, Ryuko, but please put that in more specific terms..."  
  
"K-Chan's other four sisters need a ride."  
  
"...No."  
  
"Aw, but Yuki, I wanna meet K-San's sisters..." Shuichi whined.  
  
"No."  
  
"Please?" a now chibi Shuichi asked.  
  
Yuki gave a smirk. "If you want to meet them that badly..you know what you have to do...are you willing to do it?" before Shuichi could answer, the writer's head met a frying pan.  
  
Ryuko hefted the pan on her shoulder and gave her cousin a smirk. "Ecchi."  
  
The doorbell rang.  
  
"I'm going back to bed," Yuki said, rubbing his head.  
  
"Oh, no you're not!" Ryuko said, pushing him to the door. "Open it!" she said with a cheerful smile.  
  
The writer gave his cousin a confused, annoyed look and opened the door. "Bai, bai, we'll see you later, Eiri-Chan!" she chimed before he could object. She closed the door and crossed her arms feeling somewhat accomplished. Then blinked as she heard a knock.  
  
"Gomen, Hiro-Chan," she apologized as she opened the door. "Why are you staying, though?"  
  
"We figured Cassie-Chan's sisters would need a familiar face when she came to get them and hopefully there would be enough room in Yuki-San's car," Hiro explained.  
  
"Hiro!" Shuichi hailed. "Do you know how many nights I stayed up watching 'Seven Days' with Ryu-Chan?"  
  
"No..."  
  
"Neither do I...."  
  
"I lost count after three," Ryuko said with a yawn.  
  
Hiro was about to ask Shuichi about lyrics to a new song when a certain pink bunny peeked through the door. "Ohayo, no da!!"  
  
"Sakuma-San!" Shuichi exclaimed.  
  
"No, it's Kumagoro-Kun, no da!!"  
  
"Kumagoro-Chan!" Ryuko said with a smile. "How are you? I haven't seen you in a week. Are you taking good care of Ryu-Chan?"  
  
Kumagoro nodded. "Are you taking good care of Yuki-San and Shuichi?"  
  
"Hai, hai."  
  
"She's having a conversation with a stuffed animal," Hiro said to Shuichi with a sweat-drop.  
  
"Kuma-Kun! How's life with Sakuma-San?" Shuichi asked.  
  
"You do realize you're both talking to an inanimate object, don't you?" Hiro asked.  
  
"Kumagoro-Chan isn't inanimate!" Ryuko said defensively. A sudden smile spread across her face. "He's Ryu-Chan!" she said, grabbing Ryuchi's arm and dragging him in.  
  
Hiro shook his head and rolled his eyes. It was still hard to believe that the person making the rabbit talk was over thirty and the person who thought it was a game was almost there.  
  
"Aw, you found me out..." Ryuchi whined. "Shuichi, how are liking Seven Days?"  
  
"Shouldn't Ryu-Chan be asking that?" Hiro pondered.  
  
"I love it! It's great! What's the end theme going to be?"  
  
"It's a secret!" Ryuko and Ryuchi said in unison with a wink.  
  
"That's just freaky," Hiro said with a face-fault.  
  
"Ano...how's Cassie-Chan since the dinner party fiasco?" Ryuko asked with a slightly guilty look.  
  
"She's gotten over it, it's okay."  
  
"Sorry about that, Tatsu-Chan sort of took over and didn't tell me where we were going."  
  
"No, no, it's okay. By the way, I keep trying to find the fifth volume of Seven Days and all the bookstores I go to say they're out."  
  
"I've got all twelve!" Shuichi chimed in.  
  
"My editor sends me a copy every time they publish a new one," Ryuko explained. "I guess you have your choice of English or Japanese."  
  
"Or both!" Ryuchi continued, holding up a few DVD's .  
  
About thirty minutes later, Shuichi heard a knock at the door. "Hai?" he asked, opening the door.  
  
"Cassie, you're right! He's adorable!!" Hiro heard as English, although Shuichi had no idea what the girl had just said. Before he could ask, though, the newcomer took him up in a bone-crushing hug. "Aw, how cute, he's got pink hair! I didn't think a guy could pull that off!! Your boyfriend's to die for!!"  
  
"Actually," Yuki said, coming up. "He's MY boyfriend."  
  
"Oh," the girl said, letting go. "Gomen...ne sai. Did I say that right?"  
  
"Yes, you said that right. But, please Becca, try not to suffocate my friends..." Cassie said walking up, followed by three other sisters.  
  
"What's everyone saying?!" Shuichi demanded.  
  
"Gomen, Shuichi-Kun," Cassie said with a sweat-drop. "These are my sisters Becca, Belle, Anna, and Carrie."  
  
The remainder of the Winchester sisters waved.  
  
"It's nice to...fit you?" Shuichi half asked.  
  
"Um...I think he means nice to MEET you," Cassie explained.  
  
"There's one thing I don't get," the oldest of the sisters, Belle said. "If he's not the guy that answered the phone," she added, pointing to Yuki. "And he's not the guy that answered the phone," the continued, pointing to Shuichi. "Then who...oh," she said, nodding. "Him, huh?" she asked, pointing to Hiro. "Sorry, the long hair threw me off there for a minute."  
  
"Yup!" Cassie said with a smile. "That's Hiroshi Nakano. Or just Hiro."  
  
"He's so cute!!" Becca squealed, she started to run forward, but Belle caught a hold of her collar.  
  
"That's enough hugging, Becca. You're engaged, 'member?" Anna said with a smile.  
  
"This is all your happy little family, Cassie?" the quiet one, Carrie asked.  
  
"This isn't my apartment, Carrie...and this isn't everyone that lives here. There's...where's Ryuko-Chan?" Cassie asked. looking around.  
  
"I think I know," Yuki said, walking to the kitchen, and going out the back door (AN: ano...if you haven't noticed, I'm just making up Yuki's apartment....gomen.) "Ryuko?"  
  
"Ja, Ryu-Chan!" Ryuchi's voice echoed up to where Yuki was standing with his cousin.  
  
"Ja ne, Ryu-Chan, Ja, Kumagoro-Chan!!" Ryuko said, waving goodbye as the singer rode off with his rabbit. "Hello, Eiri-Chan. What's the matter?"  
  
Yuki put on a smirk. "You know what he's after, don't you?"  
  
Ryuko quirked an eyebrow. "Since when are you such an ecchi?!" She unexpectedly blinked. "G-gomen, I shouldn't have brought that up..."  
  
"Who told you?" he asked.  
  
"Tohma told Mika...then Mika told me...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up. I'll just go inside..."  
  
"Hey, Ryuko-Chan," he said as she turned around. She stopped and turned around. "I'm over it, it's okay. Mostly thanks to a certain pink- haired baka," he said with a smile, putting a hand on her shoulder. He blinked and shook his head. "That was unusually sentimental."  
  
"Yeah, Shui-Chan brings out the best in people," Ryuko said with a smile as she walked in.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"Oh, more K-Chan clones!" she said as she walked in to see Cassie and her four sisters.  
  
"Ryuko-Chan, you mind if you switch to English?" Cassie asked. "We're from Los Angeles. These are my sisters: Belle, Anna, Becca, and Carrie."  
  
"Ryuko Uesugi," Ryuko said with a smile. "Pleasure to meet you," she said in English.  
  
"Wait," Belle said thoughtfully. "You have an accent but I can't place it."  
  
"Say that again?" Anna asked.  
  
"Pleasure to meet you?"  
  
"I still can't place it," Becca said with a shrug  
  
"I'm from Texas," Ryuko said with a sweat-drop.  
  
"You're from Kyoto," Yuki corrected, walking in.  
  
"I'm from both!!"  
  
He turned to the sisters. "I've told the airport where to leave your luggage. You owe me a favor," he added in Japanese to Cassie as they walked out. 


	7. Lesson 7

Lesson 7: INTERROGATIVE WORDS...?  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Ryuko," Yuki said walking into kitchen. "Baka, I suppose this applies to you, too, so listen up! My father just called and he said he wants to see Ryuko. He wants us to come to Kyoto TOMORROW. Which means, he wants us THERE TODAY. Got it?"  
  
"Hai," Ryuko said with a nod. "How is Ojii-San these days?"  
  
"Same as always," Yuki said with a shrug, walking out.  
  
"Oh, and, baka, please work on your lyrics," Yuki's voice came from behind the door. "Hearing them from Ryuko's room full-blast everyday doesn't do much for one's concentration."  
  
"I don't have my cd's full-blast!" Ryuko defended. "I have my head phones in!"  
  
Yuki sighed. "It's a wonder you're not deaf."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Are you sure you have everything?" Yuki asked later that day when everyone was getting the car. "Did you check?"  
  
"And double checked, blah, blah, blah," Ryuko said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Let's go!" Shuichi chirped, but stopped as a certain pink rabbit flew out of nowhere and smacked him in the back of the head, bouncing into Ryuko's arms.  
  
"Kumagoro-Chan? Where'd you come from?"  
  
Everyone looked over as they heard Ryuchi's laughter. "Kumagoro Beam strikes again!"  
  
"Kami-Sama........." Yuki groaned. "We'll never get to Kyoto at this rate."  
  
"Ryu-Chan?" Ryuko asked. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Kumagoro-Kun wanted to visit," Ryuchi explained.  
  
"We're about to go to Kyoto to visit Yuki's family, Sakuma-San," Shuichi clarified.  
  
"Can I come?"  
  
"No," Yuki growled. "That's the last thing Kyoto needs, is the three of you in one place!"  
  
"Gomen, Ryu-Chan," Ryuko said with a sympathetic smile as she handed Kumagoro back to him.  
  
Ryuchi shook his head and waved his arms. "Kumagoro would miss you too much. Take him to see Kyoto, it's okay with me."  
  
"Thanks, Ryu-Chan!" Ryuko exclaimed, giving him a hug. "I'll take good care of him for you! Ja ne!" she added, getting into Yuki's car.  
  
Yuki shook his head as he got into the driver's seat. His cousin really was too dense for her own good.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Tatsuha, what are you doing?!" the head of the Uesugi temple yelled at his young son. "Put it like this!" he commanded, correcting what Tatsuha had apparently messed up for the thousandth time!  
  
Tatsuha tried to put whatever "it" was the way is father had suggested, but the old man just snatched it away and began to work. "I'm going to do the daily prayer. Go outside and wait for your cousin! It's been nine years since she's been back here and I don't want anything messed up."  
  
"Whatever," Tatsuha said with a shrug. "By the way. Since you didn't let me get a word in edge-wise, Mika's here with Tohma. They have a surprise." The boy turned to leave. 'And I hope you have a heart attack when you figure it out!' he thought as he loped away.  
  
As soon as Tatsuha got to the door, Yuki opened it.  
  
"Hello, Onii-Chan," the younger said with a smirk. "Great day for a heart attack, ain't it?"  
  
"Don't you 'great day' me," his brother growled.  
  
"Come on, Yuki!" Shuichi chimed in. "It's a beautiful day!"  
  
"So, you brought cotton-candy head, eh?"  
  
"Where's Ojii-San?" Ryuko asked with a blink.  
  
Tatsuha jerked his head in the general direction of where his father was. "He's saying the daily prayer."  
  
Ryuko nodded and walked in.  
  
"So, does he know about Mika's.........'condition'?" Yuki asked.  
  
"Nope."  
  
The brothers shook their heads as Ryuko walked up behind her uncle. "Heart attack number one........." they said in unison.  
  
"Nani?" Shuichi asked, tilting his head.  
  
"OJII-SAN!!" she screamed, ripping the man away from his concentration, throwing her arms around his neck. "What's the matter, Ojii-San? Why are you crying?"  
  
"I'm just so happy to see back here again, my dear!" he said, wiping away tears.  
  
"Yeah, right," Tatsuha grumbled.  
  
"You're just upset that she messed up the daily prayer," Yuki added.  
  
"I'm almost done with the daily prayer, Ryuko, if you'll just wait outside with your cousins, I'll be out there in a minute."  
  
Yuki shook his head and let out a frustrated sigh. "Told ya," Tatsuha said with an eye roll and Ryuko walked out.  
  
"We'll just put our stuff in the guest rooms," Yuki said after everyone was standing outside. "You remember where that is, don't you, Ryuko?"  
  
"Actually," Tatsuha piped up. "Tohma and Mika are here, so we've arranged for Ryuko and Mika to sleep in one room while you, Shuichi, and Tohma stay in the other."  
  
"I get to room with Mika-Chan again?" Ryuko asked happily.  
  
"It's either that or room with those two," her cousin explained, jamming a thumb at Yuki and Shuichi. "But that's Tohma's job." He blinked as he saw something in Ryuko's coat pocket. "What's that?"  
  
Ryuko looked down to what he was asking about. "You mean Kumagoro-Chan?"  
  
"Yeah, where'd you get him?"  
  
"Oh, well----"  
  
Before she could go on, Yuki put a hand over her mouth. "I bought it for her."  
  
"No, you didn't," Tatsuha said with a laugh.  
  
"Yes, I did."  
  
"No, you didn't."  
  
"Yes. I. Did."  
  
"Ryu-Chan!" Mika hailed, walking in "What are they going on about now?"  
  
"I don't remember," Shuichi said with a sweat-drop.  
  
"Neither do I........." Ryuko added with a shrug.  
  
"Come on, let's leave these two to act like children and I'll show you to your rooms," Mika said with a smile.  
  
"Ne, I was wondering," Shuichi said with a very confused look. "I thought Ryu-Chan was your cousin, but she was here a lot more than a cousin usually would stay."  
  
"My parents died when I was really little and Ojii-San and Oba-San were my godparents," Ryuko explained.  
  
Later that day, Yuki, Ryuko, Mika, and Shuichi were walking down a street in Kyoto to do some grocery shopping. Mika said exercise was good for her two bundles of joy. That her father still didn't know about. They decided it would be best to save his second heart attack until dinner. Tatsuha was at the temple to keep him occupied, and Tohma was there to at least keep him company.  
  
"Nekomi-Chan!" a hyper voice behind them. "Correct if I'm wrong, but isn't that blonde man over there.........Yuki-Sama?"  
  
"Hai!" another voice chimed. "And, Nanashi-Chan, isn't that guy next to him.........Shuichi-Sama?"  
  
"Yeah! I've heard that Yuki-Sama is from Kyoto!"  
  
"Just like us!!"  
  
"You know what I'm thinking?"  
  
"AUTOGRAPHS!!"  
  
"Ano, sumimasen," the one called Nekomi said, walking up with her friend, Nanashi.  
  
"Are you Eiri Yuki-Sama?" Nanashi asked.  
  
"Hai," Yuki said with a strangely uncharacteristic smile.  
  
"He's always like this around fans," Mika whispered to Shuichi and Ryuko.  
  
"And are you Shuichi Shindou-Sama?" one of them asked.  
  
"Hai!" Shuichi piped up  
  
They each took out one of Yuki's books and one of Bad Luck's albums. "Can we have your autograph?"  
  
(AN: is this just some fangirl code that I'm not aware of? To randomly carry any paraphernalia of anything??)  
  
Yuki took out a pen and signed the books and handed the pen to Shuichi. Who signed the CD's. "Arigatou gozaimasu!" the girls chimed at the same time.  
  
"Ne," Nekomi started with a confused face. "Yuki-Sama...who's the lady with the blue hair?"  
  
"She looks a lot like you," Nanashi continued.  
  
Ryuko got a very malicious grin on her face. "He's my Dad!" she exclaimed, grabbing Yuki's arm. "And this is my mom!" she went on, taking Shuichi's hand.  
  
By this time, Mika had started to laugh. "And this is my sister," she finished, putting her head on Mika's shoulder.  
  
By now, Mika was laughing so hard, she was crying.  
  
Yuki's face had gone very flat.  
  
Shuichi's was very confused.  
  
So were the fangirls'.  
  
The girls shrugged and walked off.  
  
Yuki glared at Ryuko. "Let's go......Ryuko."  
  
The two ahead of them stopped and slowly turned around.  
  
"Ryuko........?"  
  
"Uesugi...........?"  
  
"EIRI, YOU IDIOT!! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Ryuko bellowed, smacking Yuki upside the head.  
  
"Too much English.........." Shuichi lamented, holding his head.  
  
"Getting you some publicity."  
  
"Uesugi-Sama," Nekomi said, walking up "We're huge fans!"  
  
"I love Yama Inu and Chizuru!" Nanashi added. "They're so cute!"  
  
"Yamai-Kun is so bishonen!"  
  
"And Chizuru accepts him even though he was human before he was a werewolf and she was from a clan of natural werewolves that didn't allow any human wolves!"  
  
After the girls stopped babbling they realized something. "Where'd she go?"  
  
"Isn't it weird that she doesn't put a picture of herself in her works like most manga artists?"  
  
"I know! But we met her in person!"  
  
"But we don't have any proof."  
  
"Ne, Nanashi-Chan.........what's that on your graphic novel?"  
  
"She signed it!"  
  
"She signed mine too!!"  
  
"I think I'm gonna melt!!"  
  
"I'll melt before you!!"  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Everyone started to file in after the head of the Uesugi family announced that it was time for dinner.  
  
"Where's Mika?" the old man asked.  
  
"I'm coming!" Mika's voice said from outside.  
  
"Heart attack number two..." Yuki, Tatsuha, Tohma, and even Ryuko muttered as the door opened.  
  
Mika walked in. "Sorry for taking so long, Otou-San," she said with a laugh. "I get around slowly these days," she added, patting her swollen stomach.  
  
"Ah!" the old monk said with a smile. "From the looks of it, it's a son, right?"  
  
Before Mika answered, everyone but Shuichi and the old man winced. "Two daughters, actually."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
While Tatsuha and Tohma were trying to get Uesugi-San back to consciousness, Mika and Shuichi decided to eat anyway and Yuki decided to try and start intelligent conversation with Ryuko, but she got a call on her cell phone. "Moshi, moshi?" she asked, putting the phone to her ear. "Oh, Ryu-Chan! I'm just fine. Hai, hai, he's still in my pocket," she filled a pause with a small laugh. "He's eating dinner. Hai, we all got here safe. We should be back in a few days. Ja ne, Ryu-Chan. Kuma-Chan says 'ja,' too." With that she hung up.  
  
"He has your cell number?" Yuki asked in English.  
  
"Yup...why ask?" she answered, keeping the language.  
  
"No reason. So..." He decided to ask about America and asked her what she did.  
  
Mika dropped her chopsticks and Ryuko's face turned very red. "What?!"  
  
"Don't act stupid, you heard what I said," he growled.  
  
Shuichi watched the conversation with a mouth full of sashimi. He didn't understand what they were saying, but he was now suddenly interested.  
  
"That's sort of a personal question, don't ya think?!" Mika burst out.  
  
Yuki gave his sister and cousin a strange look. And asked in Japanese.  
  
Ryuko shook her head. "That's not what you asked."  
  
"Yes, it was. I asked, 'who did you do?'"  
  
"Baka!" Mika said the one word in Japanese. "'Nani' is 'what', not 'who'!"  
  
Yuki sighed. Who needed interrogative words anyway?  
  
"Well," Ryuko said, staying in English. "I did do a few things. I got married," she said with a smile.  
  
"You did, my dear?" Uesugi-San said, suddenly perking up.  
  
"Yes, uncle but..."  
  
"But what?"  
  
"He died two years ago..."  
  
"Did—"  
  
"No...sorry...we were never blessed with children."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Heart attack number three..." Tatsuha, Yuki, Tohma, and Mika muttered.  
  
"Besides...It's not like they could have inherited the temple anyway."  
  
"Why is that, Ryuko-Chan? I'm quite sure your son would have made a fine monk. If you had one, that is."  
  
"Because I....converted to Christianity?"  
  
Tatsuha shook his head as he tried to revive his father for the third time that night. "There, there, Otou-San...It's not that bad." 


End file.
